A Legend in the Dark
by WildVegeta
Summary: Bulma Brief didn't fear anything. Not even the mysterious young man that crashlanded on Earth when she was looking for the dragonballs. B/V. AU.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own anything._

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**A Legend in the Dark**

* * *

Bulma Brief was many things, but a coward was certainly not one of them. And that was precisely why the phrase "curiosity killed the cat" did little to faze her.

Oh no, Bulma Brief was a very curious girl, and ambitious, too. After all, she was the heir to the biggest, richest, most famous and successful enterprise in the world: Capsule Corporation. And she was perfect for the job: Exaggeratedly intelligent, highly active, and stubborn like the devil. In fact, the young woman was so absurdly stubborn that she had ignored her parent's pleas of not going on a journey all by herself chasing some sort of wish-granting orbs that were scattered all around the globe.

She had found one of them in her basement: A precious two-star dragon ball that, along with other six of them, would supposedly give Bulma what she most wanted: a prince. A _perfect_ prince to match her exotic beauty and whip-lash intelligence.

So instead of going to the beach or lying on the couch watching TV, Bulma's summer plans began when she left her home in search of the seven dragon balls.

She packed everything she would need, including the Dragon Ball radar she had built herself, and jumped on her vehicle, bidding farewell to her parents as she went on her quest.

Little did she know that she was up for the adventure of her life.

* * *

"Dammit!" he screamed.

His pod was beeping annoyingly and the small, cramped space inside was full of black smoke coming out of the various panels. He tried pressing buttons, tapping on the control panel, even activating the Voice Control, but nothing was working. Not even the oxygen mask. He was choking in the smoke, but there were more important things to think about. The fuel, for instance. He squinted his eyes as he once again tried to type the coordinates of the nearest one of Frieza's planets, but it was no use. The coordinate panel was damaged as well. It was displaying a bunch of zeros.

He smashed his finger against the scouter to try to contact Frieza's closest base planet.

"You've reached Base 37, coordinates…"

"This is Prince Vegeta! I need help right now! My pod is malfunctioning!" he screamed.

"If you were so kind as to give me your coordinates maybe I could…"

"I don't fucking know the coordinates, dammit! The coordinate panel is not working and I am in the middle of space."

"What spacepod are you using, Prince Vegeta?"

A wave of relief hit him. They could track his pod and make it land safely on the base.

"Spacepod 98XA98. It should be under my name." he said, nervously picking at the soft armrest.

"Hello? Soldier Vegeta? Are you still there?"

"Yes! 98XA98!"

"Prince Vegeta? Can you hear me?"

A soft buzzing sound began to emanate from his scouter and he screamed in frustration, ripping it away from his face. It began to smoke as well.

With a growing dizziness from the lack of oxygen, the young prince watched helplessly as millions of signs appeared on it, making it beep horribly just like the spacepd. He growled and turned it off. It continued smoking. He sighed and put a hand on his forehead, swallowing nervously. The tip of his tail was flicking agitatedly as he held the scouter in his gloved hands and his eyes traveled back and forth between the control panel and the small red glass of his scouter.

It was probably because he was feeling dizzy and groggy, but the prince felt acceptance flow through his body. His tense, twitching muscles relaxed and his eyelids dropped heavily. There was nothing he could do but await his faith like a warrior. If he had luck – which he doubted – a nearby planet would have a gravitational field big enough to suck his pod and force it to crashland, because, since the malfunctioning pod didn't even have a destiny now, it wouldn't use the fuel to pull away from the planets on his way. It was Vegeta's last hope. He coughed a few times and his hands fell limply on his legs.

After a few agonizing minutes, he felt a rough shake from the gravitational atmosphere of a planet and closed his eyes.

He was asphyxiating, but he tensed his muscles, hoping there was oxygen in there.

* * *

Bulma blinked a few times and yawned. She had been driving for five hours straight, but the radar hadn't shown any improvement yet. She began to seriously doubt their existence… But she was Bulma Brief! Her radar couldn't be wrong! She frowned and kept staring straight ahead, clenching the steering wheel even as her legs began to hurt from the lack of movement.

Some minutes passed before something caught her eye. It was quite big and was falling absurdly fast from the sky. And it was smoking! Could it be a meteor? She accelerated as her blue eyes widened. She suddenly heard an awful boom in the distance and screeched when her car was thrown into the air by some kind of gust. The car rolled a bit on the ground before halting.

She let out an angry sigh as she opened the door and jumped out of it, grabbing her backpack. Luckily she was not hurt, so she only cleaned her dress and took a deep breath.

"What the hell was that?" she muttered as curiosity got the better of her and she squinted. She could only see clouds of smoke rising from the spot.

She glanced back at her car and winced. It was destroyed. She capsulated it to check on it later and ran to where the impact was heard. It had been far from where she had been driving, so it took her several minutes to get there.

She froze when she saw it.

There was a huge crater on the ground. Smoke and dirt were rising from it, accompanied by a low hissing sound. She walked over to the edge and peeked inside. A big sphere was there. It was silver, covered in dust and debris, with a small purple glass at the front. She gulped. Was that a spacepod? Could it be some sort of spacecraft? Could there be an alien inside of it?

She cocked her head to the side. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

No answer.

She waited, studying the pod deeper. She crouched low and narrowed her eyes, wondering what could've made it crashland on Earth. Judging on the smoke, it was severely damaged.

She gave a short yell as it opened up. Shrieking, she fell on her butt and her eyes grew wide as she froze on the spot, expecting something to jump out of it.

Nothing happened.

Calming herself, she got up and leaned over the edge of the crater. The 'door' was open, and a lot of black smoke was coming out. She coughed when it reached her and narrowed her eyes, which watered instantly. She put a hand on her mouth and tried to see through the thick haze. A faint beeping sound could be heard coming from the inside.

"Hello?" she said with a choked voice, waving her hand to keep the smoke and dirt away from her face. "Hello?"

Still no answer.

She thought about going down, but she would probably slip, fall, and end up dirty and hurt. She decided to wait.

A groan came from the inside.

"Oh my! There's someone in there! Alive and hurt!" She took a deep breath. Aliens? Really? "Can you hear me?"

She bit her lip and weighed her options. She couldn't leave the person in there if he or she was hurt, and they probably were unconscious or severely injured so them climbing up was out of the question. She bit her lip and made up her mind, beginning to climb down the crater, trying to be extremely mindful of the sharp or loose rocks that she tried to hold on to. More than once, a rock slipped out and nearly made her fall.

"Damn you. He better be handsome." She said. "Or a really good kisser."

As she grabbed the rocks with her perfectly manicured hands – not so much after that little stunt she was pulling though – and dug her formerly beautiful shoes into the ground to keep from falling, a noise came to her ear. Footsteps. She turned her head to see… a man. And a very weird one at that.

He was wearing some kind of armor, with broken plates covering his shoulders and outer thighs. Under it, he had a blue spandex suit, ripped and bloody. He was barely standing, with one arm on the spacepod to keep balance and the other one lying limply at his side. Blood was running down his nose, mouth and one of temples and there was a large bruise on his cheek. His hair was upswept in a black flame, defying gravity, its base a giant widow's peak. Her eyes widened when he coughed up a goblet of bloody phlegm.

Suddenly, the rock she was gripping slipped out from the soil, making her lose balance and slip. She skidded down the curve of the crater, squealing, and came to a stop before the man. She looked up at him and he looked down at her. Something in his eyes made her cower and she pushed herself backwards, until her back found the wall of dirt and she squeaked. His sweaty and bloodied face turned into a fierce scowl. He growled.

"Please, don't hurt me!"

He gave a step towards her, but fell on his knees. Her eyebrows knitted together.

"Uhm… Are you okay?"

He didn't answer. After a few seconds, he slumped forward, unconscious.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap. What am I supposed to do now?" She swallowed and crawled up to him. "Damn. This always happens to me." She looked up at the edge of the crater. No way she was climbing up again, let alone climb carrying _him._ She put a hand on his forehead and winced. He was burning.

"Where did you come from anyway?" she muttered. She frowned in confusion when she saw the furry belt he had wrapped around his waist. It was covered in blood as well. She chewed on her lip and sat beside him, sighing.  
"That's it!" she said, snapping her fingers. She reached into her fanny pack and took out a small box. Various colored capsules were stored in the box, and she had memorized each color code before going on her little trip. She grabbed the one she needed.

"Bulma Brief, you are a genius!" She giggled as she threw it into the air, and it popped.

After a swift poof, a small helicopter appeared, parked awkwardly at the curve of the crater. It wasn't much. It really couldn't hold a lot of fuel and couldn't fly very high, but it was enough to get them out of there. She stood up and put her hands below his armpits, preparing to drag him over to the aircraft and leave the god forsaken pod behind. The smoke was already dizzying her and she worried that it would explode suddenly, ending both their lives.

She couldn't even budge him, though. The man was heavy as hell. She glanced at his muscles and couldn't help the smile that climbed to her face. His tight spandex didn't leave much to the imagination, and she could see every detail of the perfectly built body that she was currently trying to save. She giggled as naughty thoughts crossed her mind and forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. She pulled again, and again, and again.

After a while, the heavy body budged a centimeter. Her arms were already aching, but she knew that the guy before her needed help, and fast. She pulled and pulled for at least an hour, until she had him on the automatic ramp of the helicopter. She pressed a button and it activated, moving upwards until his body was inside the device. She mentally thanked her father for this little detail on the machine and stepped on the ramp, thoroughly worn out. "Damn you." She breathed out. The ramp closed and she turned the engine on.

The apparatus lifted off of the ground and Bulma tried to find an open space to put her house up in there. She bit her thumb as she looked around. She jumped when she heard a groan behind her. She turned around. He hadn't moved. At least she had put him right at the end of the ramp, so she wouldn't have to pull him down. The automatic slope would do it for her.

After half an hour, she found a clearing and landed there. She sidestepped the unconscious body and went down, activating her Capsule House. She ran inside and went straight into the small infirmary that his father had installed in the little house. It was nothing, just a bed and some first aid stuff. But what she needed was the stretcher that Dr. Brief kept in a closet next to the bed. She opened it and took it out, carrying it outside. She put it right at the other end of the ramp and re-activated it.  
The man's body came down until it reached the stretcher. He was not perfectly fitting in there, but she didn't care at the moment. She capsulated the helicopter and pushed the stretcher back into the infirmary, ignoring her aching muscles.

* * *

She rubbed her eyes. It was already night. The blue-haired scientist stepped out of the shower after having a hot bath to ease her muscles and she put on some khaki shorts and a white top and went back to the infirmary to check on her little guest. After cleaning him up, she had found that he was really _very _handsome. And absolutely hot. He was now naked on the bed, covered in bandages and a clean, white cotton sheet. Most, if not all, of his injuries had been caused by the impact. She sat on the small wooden chair at the side of the bed and put her elbows on her knees and her head on her hands, glancing at his tail.

She smiled as she remembered the moment she had tried to take it off, finding out that it was, in fact, a tail. She had been scared, but now she was calm. So he had a tail, that didn't mean he wasn't a suitable pair for her. She glanced at the clock and got up for a night snack.

.

Vegeta's eyelids fluttered before shooting upwards. He scanned the room he was in, his body tensing instinctively at the unfamiliar surroundings. This wasn't his pod… nor was it any kind of medical bay in any of Frieza's bases. Where was he?

He noticed that he was bandaged and naked on a comfortable bed. His armor and spandex were on some table at the other side of the room. He relaxed. He was obviously somewhere where nobody had the direct intention of harming him. Hadn't they recognized him? Perhaps they were just one of those weak races that held the strong belief of helping anyone, no matter how evil? He shrugged. He had no time for this. He had to get back to his pod, get his scouter and try to communicate with one of Frieza's technicians. He kicked the covers into the air and got up. His stomach growled. Maybe he could hunt before leaving… Eating his host wouldn't hurt either.

He jumped from the bed and stretched his muscles, cracking his neck and testing his previously injured limbs. His tail uncurled behind him and waved around lazily.

"Oh… You woke up." A female voice said behind him. He turned his head and cocked an eyebrow. A girl was standing at the door. She had navy blue eyes and hair. He glanced briefly at her cleavage before turning around and grabbing his spandex to put it on. "Uhm… I'm Bulma Brief."

He kept on ignoring her. She got angry.

"Hey, you! I'm talking to you! I saved your life out there!" She waved her arms in the air and he growled.

"Cease your incessant blabbering, woman. It's annoying."

He didn't know why he didn't blast her into oblivion right away. He just shrugged it off and looked at his spandex. His left eyebrow twitched imperceptibly. It was covered in blood and ripped. He couldn't wear it in that state.

Bulma rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." Rolling her shoulders back, she turned around. "Dinner's served, in case you're hungry." She stalked out of the room and he followed her with his gaze. "There are clothes in the next room… which might as well be your room from now on!" she said as she walked away.

He frowned. Now on? What was she planning? To keep him like a pet? He growled and looked back at his spandex. Fine, he could do with some clothes. For now.

He got out and walked into the room next to the small infirmary. The room smelt like cologne and cigarette. Growling again, he threw the closet doors open, almost ripping them off the hinges, and grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants and a black sleeveless shirt. He felt awkward with the weird looseness of the clothes, but shrugged it off and followed the scent of warm food.

Bulma Brief was sitting there, reading some kind of thin book and eating a piece of cooked meat. There was an empty seat with a plate in front of it. He sat down and her blue eyes went up to him. She smiled.

"Eat it. It's great."

He raised an eyebrow at it.

"I'll need more than this." He grumbled. "Bring me more, Bulma Brief."

"Eat that first and then…"

"I SAID BRING ME MORE!" he roared, snarling. Her eyes widened minutely before she slammed the magazine on the table and got up.

"Listen here, bud! You are my guest, and as much as I'd love to serve you, you have to have manners here! YOU don't demand, you _ask, _okay?"

He was left gawking at her. How dare she? She was the first one that had ever screamed at him… apart from Frieza, of course, but that was an entirely different case. Who was this girl? What was she doing? He hadn't overcome his stupor when she smiled sweetly and walked over to the kitchen. "Now, I'll gladly bring you more food."

He shook his head and growled, but his stomach growled louder and so, the Prince of All Saiyans attacked the piece of cooked meat before him. It was delicious.

.

"More, woman." He said, pushing the tenth plate. Her blue eyes widened. She put the Cosmopolitan down and got up.

"Geez, have a stomach there, do we?" she said. "What's your name, anyway?"

She hadn't had time to talk to him since he had been stuffing his mouth with food. She served three cans of canned sausages and a lot of tuna on a plate and gave it to him. He devoured it in a second and looked up at her.

"Vegeta." He grumbled. He was surprised when her eyes didn't widen in fear and her body didn't tremble.

"So… what happened there? Where did you come from? Don't tell me you're from outer space. That'd blow my mind."

He cocked an eyebrow at the curious choice of words and shrugged it off as an expression from the land. He pushed his chair from the table and stretched. "I'll be going now, Bulma Brief."

"You can call me Bulma, you know. And where are you going, anyway?"

"Back to my pod." He answered. He debated whether or not to blast her off, since he did that every time he spoke to someone on an alien planet. He decided he wouldn't since she seemed to live away from the rest of her civilization and wouldn't talk to anyone about his small visit. He walked into the infirmary to grab his spandex and armor. She ran behind him.

"Wait! Why do you want to go there? It's late. Sleep here."

"I'm not staying on this planet."

"What? You're kidding, right?" He didn't know what was so weird about that. Was she so ignorant that she didn't even know about space travel? He turned around and gave her a puzzled look. "It's impossible to travel to outer space."

His suspicions confirmed, he put his broken armor over the new, strange clothes and folded the spandex, tucking it under his arm. He put on his boots and gloves and walked out the door, sidestepping her.

"Hn."

"W-wait!" she said, trying to overcome her shock. Was he mental? "Uhm… You say you're planning on going to outer space with your pod but it… it seems broken." If he was as insane as to think that he could travel to space, then he shouldn't wander alone in the dark. She would have to take care of him.

He stopped dead in his tracks. Yes, the pod was broken and so was his scouter.

He turned around and glanced at her. He debated his options. He knew Frieza's technicians were good at speculating. They could track the last transmission of his scouter and calculate the coordinates of the nearest planet with enough gravity to pull him down into a crashland. Then they'd find him. But that could take months, and that'd lead to his _slow_ demise. If he could send a transmission and give them the exact coordinates so that they could find him faster, he'd save his ass… maybe. No, he couldn't stay.

He turned to walk outside. Bulma groaned. He was mental _and_ stubborn. She followed him. "If you stay, I might be able to fix the pod."

"Don't be ridiculous. You don't even know about space travel. How do you expect me to believe that you can repair a space craft?" he said, crossing his arms.

"Well…" she stole a glance at his tail. What if he _was _an alien after all? She shook off those thoughts immediately. He couldn't be. "If I look at it I might sketch some things out and fix it for you. I'm a technological genius! I invented this! Well, me and my father." She said, lifting her arms to indicate the whole house. He raised an eyebrow, not amused.

"What? The house?"

"No, silly. This is a Capsule House. It gets capsulated and can be carried everywhere." She explained. "We invented the system. I'm an expert in mechanics and machinery… Maybe I could help you."

Why did she want to help him? He sighed through his nose and looked her up and down. Well, there was nothing to lose anyway.

"Fine. Come on, let's go."

"Now? It's almost midnight!"

"So?"

"You should wait until tomorrow. Get some sleep, you know… Heal a bit." She suddenly noticed. "Oh my god! One of your legs was broken, how are you even walking?"

"That was hours ago."

"Exactly!" she tried to find words to explain her frustration, but nothing else came out.

"If you're not coming with me, then I'm going back. Alone."

"Wait. It's late… You don't even know where it is."

He frowned and turned around, walking outside. She ran after him. He growled. What an annoying being. He powered up and blasted off. Bulma screeched and fell on her butt. "Oh my god, what the hell!"

She stared as a blue streak crossed the sky, right towards the pod.

So many things for a day.

She shakily got up and walked into the house, deciding she'd go find him when she had gotten some sleep. Maybe this was just an awful nightmare. She'd wake up any second now to find out that it had all been a dream.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews! I don't own anything.

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Bulma woke up next morning and stretched her muscles. Her arms were aching like hell.

"Well, I guess that only means it wasn't all a dream." She muttered.

She wasn't in an immediate hurry of going out there and finding Vegeta to help him. He was strong, and could fly. He could fend for himself while she ate something and tried to repair her car. It had been his fault, after all. She shrugged and got out of her bed, jumping into the bathroom. She thought about the man while she washed her hair. She wondered if he would accept accompanying her on her quest. He wasn't the most respectful man out there, but perhaps getting some sleep had changed his mood. She would have to go out to the crater again to find him and convince him of coming with her.

She wouldn't mind a little company.

* * *

Vegeta rubbed his eyes as he woke up. He had slept for about two hours and now it was time to work on the goddamn scouter. He leaned on the soft cushion of the pod and rolled the small device in his hands. It was strange to be without gloves, but they were ripped and bloodied. Not that he didn't like blood… he just didn't like it when it was his own.

He tapped the button of the scouter that communicated automatically with the closest base. Nothing happened. He put it on and pressed it twice, to locate significant powerlevels. Not one number showed on his red screen. He growled. Apart from the cracked screen, nothing seemed to be wrong in it. Then again, he knew nothing about mechanics, and the problem seemed to be internal. He sighed and put it next to him, on the armrest.

He then proceeded to check on the coordinate panel. It was weird to see the screen black. It was usually blue with yellow numbers on it.

He opened the hatch to the control panel and tried pressing the button to change coordinates, but nothing happened. It was dead. The pod and the scouter were dead. Had he been busted by any technician that had some grudge against him? It wouldn't be a surprise. Mostly everyone on that ship hated him. Or… perhaps he had passed through an area that deactivated all technological devices. He sighed. Whatever it was, he was doomed. It would be too late for when they found him and Frieza would kill him.

"Hello? Vegeta?"

He glanced at the edge of the crater and saw Bulma standing there. He rolled his eyes. He didn't need her distraction. He turned back to his scouter before hearing the sound of something skidding smoothly through the soil. He growled and looked up. She was coming up to him with her little dress and her backpack.

"What the hell do you want, woman?"

She frowned. "Well, I thought you might be needing some help!"

"I don't need your help." He said as he put the scouter on his ear and pressed the button. His hope rose when a small circle appeared right on Bulma's chest and it beeped, showing a number… and then it turned off completely. "Fuck." He muttered, and he put the scouter back on the armrest.

Bulma cocked her head to the side and walked up to the pod, stretching her arm to grab it. Vegeta growled and grabbed her wrist with inhumane speed. She yelped and tried to pull back, but he didn't let go of her. He pulled her close until their noses were almost touching and looked into her eyes. She gulped when she locked her gaze on his onyx orbs and froze when another animalistic growl emanated from his chest.

"That's enough of your insolence. Stop trying to invade my personal space, woman. Otherwise, this little hand of yours will be gone forever."

He released her and leaned back on the pod, crossing his arms. Bulma rubbed her wrist gently and her eyebrows furrowed. She considered leaving him alone, but something inside of her urged her to help him. She took a deep breath and kneeled down to take out her capsules. Once she found the one she needed she pressed the button on top and threw it to the ground. Vegeta watched this with a cocked eyebrow and his eyes almost slid off their sockets when a toolbox appeared out of nowhere after a poof. He gawked at it. He remembered her mentioning something about capsulation, but he didn't think it was possible. She picked the toolbox up and opened it, searching through the tools inside. Finally, she pulled out a small screwdriver and showed it to him.

"I can try to fix your… device."

He frowned and looked at his scouter. "You don't even know what it is."

"Well, yeah. But if you tell me, we can do something to fix it."

He frowned. "Why should I trust you?"

She smiled and giggled. "Well, haven't you heard that boys must always trust pretty girls?"

His lip curled up in disgust. "What an insolent woman."

She winked at him and put the screwdriver in the toolbox. "So, can I get a little look at it?"

"Hn." He took it and inspected it for a second before throwing it at her. She caught it in the air and rolled it in her hands. "It's a communicator." He said after a while. "And also an energy detector. It started smoking when my pod stopped functioning."

"Who does it communicate you with?"

He hesitated before answering. She surely didn't know anything about Frieza. That would explain why she didn't fear him. Everywhere he went, he was recognized and he made brave soldiers shake in their boots as mice when he looked at them. This girl was ignorant and it was better to keep it that way. He crossed his arms as he looked at the scouter.

"A base planet, or other scouters."

She shifted her position and changed from kneeling to sitting on the ground as she pressed the buttons at its side.

"A base planet? What do you mean by that?" she asked, without taking her eyes off of the scouter. She took out the screwdriver and tried to find a screw, but found nothing. "How the hell do you people build this stuff?" she muttered. She grabbed a small monkey wrench-like tool and put it in the only division she could find, trying to open it up and scan the system.

"Give it to me before you break it, woman."

He leaned over to take it but she got to open it in half before he could grab it. Electricity swirled around and smoke rose from the center of the scouter. Vegeta froze in his place. Was it broken? Bulma seemed frozen as well. She knew Vegeta would be fucking pissed if she messed with his little toy. She swallowed and blew the smoke away, just in time to find a lot of chips and cables connected all around. Some seemed broken, but she couldn't be sure. This was technology she had never seen before. She grabbed one of the broken cables and a wave of energy coursed through her fingers. She jumped and released the scouter.

"Dammit!"

Vegeta chuckled and picked it up, trying to inspect it himself. "Just what I thought."

"What?"

He didn't answer. It was obvious. The main cables had been disconnected. Right when he had tried to access the nearest base, it began to malfunction, completely destroying itself some minutes later. Someone had busted him. Someone that hated him and wanted to see him get his ass beaten and his stomach growling with food deprivation. It wasn't something rare.

Since he was five-years old and had been taken to Frieza's compound against his will, all the soldiers had held a grudge against him. Some had feared him since he had put his feet on the castle, but others had just made fun of him. Stronger soldiers used to beat him around when he was alone and blame him of stupid things just so that his cruel master would punish him and deprive him of food or sleep.

As he began to grow older and stronger, soldiers kept away from him, and Frieza kept him at his side as his little 'favorite'. Most men shook in their boots when they saw the young prince walking through the compound. Nobody spoke to him apart from his comrades and his superiors. But that didn't mean he wasn't hated. Oh no, everyone hated him deeply. Actually, every soldier hated each other in most cases, but when it was about the temperamental proud prince, they would find any possible way of making his life even more miserable. Sometimes Vegeta wondered if they just wanted him to kill himself after all the things he was put through.

So it didn't surprise him that one technician had damaged his scouter and his pod. After all, having a personal pod and a scouter of his own came with being an elite, and it was easy to damage them knowing he was always going to use them for his missions. He looked up at the blue-haired girl.

"How much of a technician do you consider yourself?"

"Well, I'm an inventor since I was a small kid and…"

"That'd have to do for now." He didn't want to meet others of her kind. If she helped him, then he'd kill her and be on his merry way. "I know what's damaged, but I don't know how to fix it. Do you think you can help me with it?"

He wasn't asking for help. He wanted to know if she was capable of doing so. She smiled and nodded, standing up from her position on the floor.

"Although, it'll have to wait a bit. You see, I'm searching for these things called dragonballs. They're supposed to grant any wish you want if you collect them all." She said, slapping her dress to take the dust off. "I invented a radar that tracks their energy and I'm on a quest to collect them all."

He cocked an eyebrow. A wish? That was nonsense. "We are going to work on my scouter now or I'll rip your head off."

She crossed her arms.

"Well, that's no way of treating a girl! If you want me to cooperate then you'll have to be patient!" He was about to answer when a beeping sound came from Bulma's backpack. "Oh…" she opened it up and took out a circular device that seemed to be the source of the beeping. "Look! The next dragonball is close! We can get it, eat something and then work on your scouter. What do you say?"

Vegeta glared at her for a second before locking his eyes on the device. If those balls were real, then maybe he had a chance to make his dreams come true. Defeating Frieza was better than going back to him, right? Being a warrior scurrying after battles for eternity without fear also sounded great. Immortality suddenly flashed in his mind and he crossed her arms.

"These balls you talk about… they can grant _any_ wish?"

"Yes. Any wish you want." She said, excitedly.

He bit his thumb and then smirked. He would follow her and help her find the orbs, then she would fix his pod and _then_ he'd steal the wish from her. He nodded briefly.

"How am I supposed to move my pod, though?"

She smiled and took out an empty capsule. She took the small chip off of the lid and placed it one the closest side to her, farthest from Vegeta. The chip mixed with the material of the pod and the capsule made a small beep. Bulma pressed the button. "Get out of there unless you wanna be capsulated with it."

"Can people be capsulated?" he asked, standing up.

"No." she laughed, throwing the capsule at the pod. "The chip that allows things to be capsulated won't melt with human skin. The pod would've been capsulated but you would've remained outside, falling on your butt. You're welcome for preventing an awful fall." She said. He grunted and watched as Bulma bent down to pick up the capsule and put it inside her bag. He immediately noticed how her dress was too short. He blushed a little and looked away.

Bulma walked back to him and showed him the radar, pointing at a small spot on the green screen. "This is the closest dragonball. We have to get it."

He didn't want to hurt her in case she got scared or died, so he decided to end her little quest right away. He grabbed her by the waist, ignoring her surprised yelp and snatched the radar from her hands.

"Put me down! Put me- NYAAAAAH!" She screamed as Vegeta blasted off, following the direction the radar was giving him. Bulma closed her eyes shut and grabbed onto Vegeta's armor, screaming.

"Shut the hell up! I'm not going to drop you!"

She bit her lip and opened one eye. Vast terrains were passing hastily before her. She looked up at him and saw his determined expression, then looked down. His perfect body was covered in the ripped spandex. It wasn't dirty anymore. Perhaps he had washed it? But how had he removed the blood stains? How was it dry so quickly? Everything about that guy was a mystery. She glanced at his tail, wrapped around his waist and sighed.

* * *

"You are saying you got a call from Base 37, and they told you that they lost all connection with Prince Vegeta?" Zarbon asked, his expression showing his worry.

"Yes, sir." Said the technician. "They said that he was reporting some malfunction, but the connection died."

"Oh, goodness. If Lord Frieza finds out that Vegeta's gone missing and that we have no means of contacting him he'll have all our heads." He said.

"Well, couldn't you track the coordinates of his last connection?" Dodoria demanded.

"We tried, but the data we're getting is all incoherent. His scouter was damaged when he left."

"Oh my, it's so typical of him not to check his devices before leaving." Zarbon growled. "Damn. You keep on trying. If you don't get anything useful in three hours, let me know."

"Yes, sir."

"What about the other monkeys? Have you contacted them yet?"

"They're in stasis."

"Figures." He growled. He turned around, his cape swirling behind him and followed by Dodoria. The two minions walked back to his master's thrown room, their chins high. Their hopes, not so much.


	3. Chapter 3

_I don't own anything._

* * *

"It says it's here." She said.

Vegeta landed and placed her on the ground. Bulma studied the radar and then the landscape before her. They were right beside a small river that led to a cascade, which in time led to a beautiful but incredibly turbulent waterway. She smiled as she saw the trees and flowers. It was all so beautiful. The sky was lighter than in the city, and the wind caressed her face as she inhaled deeply. Birds flew around and fish jumped in the water. She put a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at Vegeta. His arms were crossed and he was also staring at the sight before them. He wasn't tense anymore, although the scowl was still there.

It struck her, again, how handsome he was.

She shook those thoughts away and Vegeta turned to look at her.

"Well? I haven't got all day, girl."

"Calm down." She inhaled again. "Enjoy the air and the sight."

Vegeta frowned. It was true he never had time to admire things when he was purging, and the planet had some pretty things to offer… but he had no time for that now either. He growled loudly and his tail waved back and forth in anger.

"Shut up." He said. "There's no time for your foolishness. Where is the stupid ball?"

"Well, it says we're near it… So I would assume it is either buried or in the water."

Vegeta sighed through his nose. "Damn you. I thought that little piece of shit was accurate." He growled. "What does it look like?"

"Uhm…" she reached into her bag and grabbed the orange orb she had taken with her. She handed it to Vegeta. "Like this… But with more stars on it."

Vegeta looked around. He couldn't blast the damn place away because he could destroy the ball. He pondered for a bit and then hovered down until he was facing the cascade. Bulma arched her eyebrow and she watched as Vegeta switched his black eyes from the orange orb and back to the crystalline water. A small glow began to appear on the palm of his free hand. The dragonball on his other hand began to glow.

He smirked as Bulma squinted slightly and he threw the dragonball in his hand at her.

She squeaked as she grabbed it but fell on her butt.

He directed the small ki blast at the water. Soon enough, the hidden ball began to reflect the glow of his ki ball… unfortunately, it wasn't inside the cascade, but below, in the running river. Vegeta growled as he spotted the orange sphere in the bottom.

"What? Aren't you going to get it?" she asked.

"Insolent woman." He hissed.

"Well, I guess it _is _quite dangerous. Perhaps we could grab it with a net or something…" she was interrupted when the heavy armor landed at her side and she stared as the Saiyan began to take his spandex off. She noticed that he let the top half hang down and he didn't take off the bottom half. Her eyes widened as he stared at his half-naked form… again.

It was so perfect! He looked as if he had come right out of the most expensive magazine's Photoshop studio. He stretched his arms above his head for a second before jumping off of the cliff. The air that followed him made her short dress wave around and she crawled up to the edge of the cliff, just in time to see him splashing down on the water. She narrowed her eyes to see him better, but she couldn't see anything. She started to panic. What if he had hit a rock, or drowned? He could be Superman but that was a nasty fall.

"Oh my god! He died!"

"Who died?" someone asked behind her.

She jumped and screamed, almost falling off of the cliff, if not for Vegeta's firm grip on her arm. She stumbled forward and looked at him with knitted brows.

"How – you were – what the hell?"

He shrugged and placed the dragon ball on her hands. She swallowed as she kept looking at him.

"What? I have your damn ball. What now? Where's the other?"

"How the hell are you there? You were inside the river, for goodness' sakes!"

"I guess I'm a little too fast for you." He mocked. He began to put the spandex back on and grabbed his armor, slipping it over his head. "Come on." He said, pointing with his chin at the radar in her hand. "What's next?"

She cleared her throat as she pushed her most traitorous thoughts to the back of her head and pressed the button on the radar. It beeped before showing the next one.

"Oh, crap! It's in the _other _side of the planet! Dammit!"

"No matter." He said. He knew it _did _matter, though, because normally it took him about a whole day to go from one side of a planet to another if it was as big as this one. Usually, planets as broad as Earth were given a week to be purged completely. But, since he didn't have to destroy the villages – disappointingly so – he would get to the other side in a few hours. But a distressing thought hit him. "Wait. You mean that's the nearest one? The others are _further_ away?"

She shrugged. "It's possible that some of them are so deeply buried that the radar would only sense them when we are over them or near them."

"Gah. Useless piece of crap you built. And you call yourself a genius."

"Shut up, jerk!"

Vegeta snarled and glared at her so intensely, that she was forced to give a tiny step back. He shook his head. It was not worth it… He still needed her. Without warning, he grabbed her by the waist and blasted off into the sky, grabbing her backpack, which lay on the floor, with his tail. After about half an hour of flying, Bulma yawned.

"Aren't you hungry? We haven't eaten anything yet."

He spared a glance at her and grunted. He was hungry, like hell. But over the years he had learned to ignore the feeling for hours. He didn't eat until he was sure the planet had been deprived of life, or he didn't eat until Frieza was sure that he would pass out in the middle of a hallway if he wasn't fed. He didn't stop, instead choosing to ignore the girl until she began to scream at him to stop for a second.

"What? Are you so weak that you can't stand a few hours without food?"

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me if you didn't eat, being as weird as you are. But _I _need food to survive so if you wouldn't mind…"

"You already saw me eating, you thickheaded moron." He grumbled.

"Well, yeah" she said, letting the insult slid off of her "but maybe you eat once a day. It wouldn't surprise me with all the amount of food you ate last night. Normal humans eat three or more times a day or else we'd starve! Now, if you don't want me to starve and die and not fix your device then you should put me down because I brought lots of delicious food. See, my mother cooks amazing types of food and…" she kept talking as a vein on Vegeta's head began to bulge. "…so I told her that I…"

"Shut up for a minute! If eating will stop your incessant blabbering then FINE! But if you try anything funny I will rip your fucking head off and feed it to the dinosaurs!" he roared.

Bulma shut her mouth and nodded hastily with wide eyes. She hadn't meant to upset him. He growled loudly as he landed and threw her to the floor.

"Ow!" she whined as she landed on her butt. "You should try to be nicer, Vegeta. I'm a lady."

Vegeta merely crossed his arms and turned away from her. She shook her head as she began to take out the capsules with the food. Vegeta's senses soon caught lots of smells that made his mouth water instantly. He turned a glaring eye at the food, not recognizing anything. He frowned as she grabbed what looked like the thigh of some animal and bit down into it. She swallowed and licked her lips, sipping on a bottle of some black substance. She looked up at him and smiled, motioning for him to sit down. His brows knitted as he hesitated, finally giving in.

He walked over to her and sat down across from her, inspecting all the food. Finally, he grabbed another one of those thigh-looking things and bit into it.

It tasted like the thigh of lots of species he had eaten, but well-cooked and spiced with some sauce. It was delicious, actually. His hunger got the best of him and he began to eat whatever his hands could grab. Bulma's eyes widened.

"Wow. For someone who didn't want to eat some minutes ago you sure look hungry."

He glared at her and gulped down a full slice of chocolate cake.

"Hn."

Bulma chuckled. Lucky for her she had packed food for several years, (being a little exaggerative), since they wouldn't go to waste inside the capsules. He snatched the bottle from her hand and looked at it curiously. He brought it to his lips and gulped it down in a second, throwing the bottle away and continuing eating.

"That was coke." She simply said, as she grabbed a slice of meat and began to chew into it. Normally, she would've used a fork and a knife to cut it down, but since Vegeta didn't seem to care about manners so much, she didn't give it too much of a thought. She was hungry as well. She took out a bottle of water and drank from it, before Vegeta snatched it away once again and drank it fully. After some minutes, watching the man eat got the best from Bulma and she lost her appetite. She licked her lips and lay down on the grass, closing her eyes and letting the sun shine on her. Soon, she drifted off.

Vegeta finished eating and looked back at her. He growled. How dare she fall asleep? But then again… he felt like nodding off himself. He growled at his weakness and he shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the sleepiness. He looked at her again and saw how calm she looked. Her light breathing, her blue eyes closed, her pale skin shining below the sun. He frowned and turned away from her. He had no time for that nonsense. He just _needed _her to repair his scouter. He lay down and closed his eyes, letting the breeze and sun rock him into unconsciousness.

Bulma woke up and rubbed her eyes. She looked down at her clock and stretched. She had slept for almost an hour. She sat up and passed a hand through her blue locks as she looked back at Vegeta. She was surprised to see that he was sleeping. His scowl was gone, his mandible wasn't locked and tense anymore. He looked so calm, so… cute. She giggled as she continued staring at him. His thin lips were parted, giving way to the beginning of pearly-white teeth. His rough, tan, dry skin spoke of days under the sun and hard work. She wondered what he did for a living. Judging by his body, he wasn't one to stay sitting in an office… Then again he _did _come from far away.

Perhaps outer space?

She moved closer to him and saw how under some of the ruptures of his suit, brown and pink lines traced his skin.

Scars.

Scars from what? She looked back at his armor. He was a soldier of some sort… Although he wasn't a soldier from any government she knew, that was for sure. She hid a goofy smile as she thought of the irony of it all. She had come into this trip to find a boyfriend, and here she was, sitting next to the hottest man she had ever seen yet. He was a jerk, but he was incredibly sexy. Not like she would marry him or anything. She had just happened to stumble into him… like finding a hot guy in a clothes store and talking to him or dancing with a sexy dude in a discotheque. He was the perfect one-night-kiss for her. As her eyes turned rainbow-shaped* with the thoughts she got from him, he began to stir. He groaned as he began to wake up and for a second he thought he was lying on the cold floor of Frieza's throne room… but no. He wasn't in any pain whatsoever.

He slowly opened his eyes to see the sun shining down upon him.

He sat up and stretched, remembering where he was. He looked back at the blue-haired girl and she blushed a little. He raised an eyebrow and got up. She got up as well and began to pick up all the garbage they had left behind to capsulate it and throw it away later. He crossed his arms as she grabbed her backpack again and inspected the radar. He grabbed her by the waist and began hovering up.

"Just go straight ahead."

He nodded once and began to fly.

* * *

"So, it worked, didn't it?" a dark voice said.

"Yes, sir. The monkey prince is gone."

"Good. We'll see what happens when Frieza finds him." The dark voice laughed, echoing off the walls. "I can't wait to see his dead body."

* * *

"Radditz." Nappa said as the long-haired Saiyan came out of the pod. "I just received a message from Zarbon."

"Oh, don't tell me we're on the wrong fucking planet."

"No." he rubbed his bald head. "Don't you notice anything missing?"

"Apart from your hair, no."

"Pay attention, third-class!"

Radditz frowned and crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I noticed as soon as we touched ground. The prince isn't here."

"And that doesn't concern you at all?"

"Well, no. Perhaps he just wanted to destroy another planet or something. You know how he is sometimes. What did Zarbon say anyway?"

"He said that they lost all connection with Vegeta. His scouter and pod seemed to be malfunctioning and the last thing they received was a message asking for help. Think hard for this one, Radditz." He taunted. The younger man rolled his eyes. "What could've happened to him, if we both know that he didn't escape?"

The long-haired Saiyan paled visibly.

"He crashlanded somewhere else…"

* * *

* With rainbow-shaped I didn't mean the innocent Goku eyes... I mean that shape they have when Bulma gets all horny... Like when she saw Zarbon for instance.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello!

First of all, I want to thank you all for your reviews! They are very much appreciated!

Second, YES, they **will** meet Goku soon! Not yet, though.

* * *

After nearly three hours of flying, Vegeta began to slow down. He looked down at the blue-haired girl and realized that she had fallen asleep. Again. Vegeta had grabbed the dragon radar when it had slipped from her hands as she nodded off, and now he was trying to get near the damn ball, but it didn't seem like it was getting any closer. He growled and looked up at the sky. It was getting dark and cold as he flew by, and he tried to summon his ki for both heat and light, but it sapped his energy faster and he decided to stop.

"This goddamned backwater planet is bigger than what I originally thought." He growled as he flew over a noisy and contaminated city. It didn't help either that he couldn't fly very fast, or else he'd probably miss one of the balls.

He sighed and landed on the top of the highest building he could spot and put the girl down. He walked over to the edge of the building and crossed his muscular arms over his chest, looking over the busy citizens with a scowl on his face. His tail waved behind him as he absentmindedly began to analyze how easy it would be to destroy the people, or force them to pledge their loyalty to Frieza. He imagined himself turning into an Oozaru and stepping on everything, or simply threatening and killing being after being until he had sated his thirst.

"Hey." He heard from behind him.

Bulma had woken up on hard concrete. It didn't take long for her to realize that they weren't flying anymore and she looked up to see Vegeta standing on the edge of a building, looking down. She got up and walked up to him.

"Enjoying the view?" she asked.

"Hn."

She shivered a bit as cold wind blew and she watched as the sun began to hide.

"We'll have to find a place to sleep. I think we're done for today."

"We're not done." He answered. "We need to find those balls."

"We're not going to find all of them today, Vegeta. I think we need to rest and continue tomorrow."

"This is ridiculous, woman." He growled. "You've done nothing but sleep!"

"Well, excuse me, bud! I am tired and want to lie down for the night!" she answered, crossing her arms.

"You're wasting my precious time!"

"I'm sorry mr. Busypants! I won't continue this trip until I get a good night's rest, okay?"

He growled and pulled his fist back to strike her, but regained his control. He closed his eyes momentarily and pinched the bridge of his nose. His tail lashed back and forth as he seethed, but finally crossed his arms and glared at her.

"Fine. But we'll rise with the sun."

"Fair enough. Besides, I can work on your scouter for a while." She said. "Let's just get settled first. I guess we can find a hotel not far from here. Take us down to that alley so that nobody sees us landing."

"A hotel? What about your capsule house?"

"We can't just pop out a house in the middle of a city, Vegeta. We'd have to go out of the city and get settled there. We'll take much less time if we just find a hotel."

"Fine."

He grabbed her by the waist again and levitated down to the ground of a dark alley. Bulma walked into the street and her eyes widened when she realized just how far she was from home. She didn't even recognize the city they were in, and she clenched the straps of her backpack with her manicured hands as she nervously began to walk down the street. Vegeta followed her, looking around warily. He didn't like to be surrounded by people. It made him uneasy and he kept on looking behind him constantly, even though he knew that none of them could hurt him if they tried.

"I think that building over there is a hotel." She said after a while of looking around. It was pitch dark already and she didn't want to be outside anymore. She hesitated a bit as she inspected the small, five story building and finally walked into the reception.

A young, blonde woman behind a counter looked up at them and smiled.

"Good day." She said with a strange accent. "Do you want to book a room?"

"Yes, please. We'd like a room with separate beds if that's okay." Bulma said, blushing a little. She wouldn't share a bed with him and she was sure as hell that he wouldn't want to share a bed with her.

"Oh, I think we only have one room available but it's only got one double bed." She said, glancing at the boy behind Bulma. The blonde furrowed her eyebrows a bit. He was a bit weird, what with his extremely strange outfit and gravity defying hair, but she'd literally jump at the opportunity to share a bed with someone like _him._

"Oh, no!" Bulma said, blushing even more. "You _have_ to give us two separate beds."

Vegeta frowned deeper. He wouldn't mind sleeping on the floor if that was the case, but he was a prince and if he was stuck in a mudball for a few days, he'd rather sleep comfortably at least. He sighed but remained silent.

"Let me check." She typed something on an old computer and smiled. "You're very lucky. We have one room available with two beds."

Bulma nodded and paid the woman. She grabbed the card and motioned for Vegeta to follow her to the elevator.

"Alright. I really need a long, hot bath to relax a bit. After that, I'll work a few hours on your device and then we'll sleep. We can call the reception to set an alarm for us early in the morning." She said as both climbed in the elevator.

"There's no need for an alarm. I'll rise and wake you up." He said, looking at the glowing numbers on the right side panel.

"Alright, if you say so." She shrugged. "Are you hungry? We could order some room service, too. Or go out to dinner later. This is not a very good hotel, either way. I don't even know if they have room service or if the food is good."

Vegeta grunted. He didn't feel like going out.

"Why don't we eat what you have in your capsules?" he said.

"It's better if we save it for later; in case we are in the middle of a forest or something. Right now we have food all around us." She said.

"Room service, then."

They finally reached their destination and climbed out. Vegeta followed Bulma across the hall until she got to their room and opened it.

It wasn't much. There were two beds with the headboards against the wall, separated by one nightstand with a small lamp and a phone. In front of it was a small TV on top of a table with a set of drawers, next to which stood a glass-door that gave way to a small balcony. The bathroom was next to the entrance. Vegeta walked in immediately, instinctively inspecting the place before flopping on the warm bed and sighing. It had been more than a decade since he had lied on something so soft and comfy.

Bulma closed the door behind her and threw her clothes capsule on the bed. She grabbed some warm pajamas and went straight into the bathroom.

Vegeta stared at the ceiling. He wanted to take a bath, too. He was tired and a bit sore, not to mention absurdly stressed out. He was already two days late to his mission, and it would be more. A lot more at this pace. Frieza would find out and look for him – if Vegeta didn't return first, that is. Either way, he would be up for the beating of his life. His stomach scrunched up at the thought of Frieza and what he would do to him. His only hope resided on the famous dragonballs, but they were just a legend. They existed alright, but could they really grant wishes? Could they grant him immortality, or unlimited power?

What if, even as an immortal being, he could still be no match for Frieza? For all he knew, Frieza could knock him out cold and keep him as a prisoner for eternity. That didn't sound good. At all.

He took a deep breath and got up, walking over to the balcony. The cold night air felt good on his tense muscles and he loosened his tail from his waist, trying to relax.

The sound of the water running finally ceased and Vegeta turned his head slightly to see Bulma opening the door of the bathroom. She was wearing some sort of pink gown that hung off of her. Vegeta was relieved to see that she didn't choose tight shorts or a skintight pajama.

She raked a hand through her damp hair and sat down on her bed.

"I'll order some food and then I'll start working, okay? What do you want?"

"Anything will do." He growled as he turned back to the busy streets.

Bulma nodded as she dialed the number of the reception – written on a small notepad to the side – and ordered a lot of food, remembering that Vegeta was a rather ravenous eater. As soon as she hung up, Vegeta went back into the room and closed the glass door behind him. He walked over to the bathroom without a word and turned the faucet on as hot as it would go.

Meanwhile, Bulma took the scouter out of her backpack and uncapsulated her tools, beginning to work on the device as hard as she could. She barely noticed as Vegeta came back out of the shower, wearing the grey sweatpants that she had lent him back at her capsule home and lied down on the soft bed, still soaking wet from his shower. He turned around, giving his back to her and covered himself with the blankets, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Bulma woke up with a start, jumping as she heard growl.

At first she thought it was all a dream, and she realized she had fallen asleep while fixing the device. She was sitting on the floor with her arms and face on top of the bed, and the scouter and her tools spread all around her. She sighed and stretched her aching back before capsulating everything and putting the scouter away. As she rubbed her eyes, she stared at the glowing numbers on the clock on top of the TV. 2:37 a.m.

She got up and was about to sink into her covers when she heard another growl. She instantly looked around the dark room, barely lightened by the city lights. She could make out Vegeta's form and she snorted as she thought that he was snoring.

Far from it.

He thrashed a little on the bed before letting out a short yell. Bulma's eyes widened and she slowly walked over to him. He growled loudly and she gave a step back, scared. His tail was flailing madly beside him and as her eyes got accustomed to the dark, she could see his face scrunched up. He yelled again and began muttering something in some strange language that she didn't recognize. His tone was a mixture of anger and fear, and she took a deep breath before deciding to wake him up. She crossed the room hesitantly, not sure if she should interrupt his fitful sleep, and her manicured hand hovered over the light switch. His yells and growls were becoming more anguished and he was gasping as if he was about to have a panic attack.

"Frieza… No." he growled before she turned the light on.

He instantly shot up into a sitting position, his fists at the ready. He looked around the room before realizing where he was and he swallowed thickly, his wide eyes locking on the girl standing a few feet away. He cleaned his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand and looked down.

Bulma stared at his sweaty torso and swallowed, trying to figure out what to say. Vegeta was by no means an easy-to-talk-to person.

"Are-are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay." He spat. "It was just a stupid dream."

She bit her lip. Of all the people, Vegeta was the last one she'd ever think of having nightmares.

"Do you… do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about it? Do I look like a helpless child? It was just a stupid dream, nothing more. Now shut up and go back to sleep." He growled.

Bulma looked around the room for a second before realizing that they had brought them the food she had ordered hours ago, and the lone trolley lay at the entrance, filled to the brim with cold food. She grabbed it and pushed it over next to his bed. Vegeta growled at her.

"Eat something." She said. "It'll help."

Vegeta glared at her before reaching out and grabbing a piece of meat with his hand. He bit into it and soon enough he was shoving all kinds of food into his mouth. Bulma quietly took an apple and went back to her bed, lying down as she ate it. After a long while, Vegeta pushed the trolley away and got up to turn the light off, but just as he was reaching for the switch, Bulma spoke hurriedly, looking at the floor nervously.

"Who's Frieza?"

Vegeta growled and smashed his finger into the light switch.

"My life is none of your concern." He growled. "Drop the goddamn subject now or I'll kill your with my bare hands, woman."

He walked back to his bed and lied down, covering himself with his blankets

Bulma sighed and closed her eyes as well.

* * *

Bulma groaned as something shook her shoulder furiously. She cracked one eye open and stared at the scowling face of the fully armored Vegeta.

"Woman, wake the hell up! We're late!"

Bulma pulled the covers over her head as she turned around, trying to go back to sleep.

"It's still dark out, bud! No freaking way!"

"I told you we'd be up before dawn!" Vegeta exclaimed, effortlessly pulling the covers from her clenching fingers.

Bulma put a hand on her forehead as rage took over her.

"Oh my god! Can't you relax for just a second?" she exclaimed, pulling the pillow over herself in an attempt to go back to sleep. "Just for five minutes, dammit. I need to get some rest."

Vegeta growled and tried to control his anger. His whole body trembled, though, and he had to take a very deep breath to calm himself down. He looked back at the clock on the TV. 4:30 a.m. He glared again at the curled up woman on the bed and his tail lashed angrily behind him when he heard soft snores coming from her. He slipped his hands below the mattress and, with a devilish smirk forming on his lips, the prince flipped it over.

With a shriek, Bulma fell on the floor and the mattress fell over her. She immediately flew to her feet and glared daggers at a laughing Vegeta. She picked the pillow up from the floor and threw it at him full force. Vegeta caught in the air, his laughter quieting down to a low chuckle as he stared at the fuming woman. Even with her hair disheveled and the bags under her eyes, she looked stunning. The red hue on her cheeks, caused by embarrassment and anger, only served to highlight the beauty of her face and Vegeta noticed a funny feeling in his stomach as he stared at her clenched fists. He realized he was holding his breath and frowned.

"Get dressed. We need to leave."

Bulma's eyes widened as she watched his demeanor changing from hysterical laughter to stern haste faster than sanity should allow.

"Wow. Bipolar much?" she muttered as she threw the clothes capsule on the floor and grabbed a white tanktop and kakhi, skin-tight pants along with a pair of brown, knee-high boots, heading for the bathroom.

* * *

"Goddammit, how much longer is it going to take?" he screamed at her.

"As long as I want it to!" Bulma yelled back, holding the hair dryer and hairbrush in her hands.

"We're already an hour late!" he fumed. "I should kill you were you stand! Looking for the damned balls would be much faster without you!"

"Then go look for them, see if I care!" she shot back over the sound of her dryer.

Vegeta clenched his fists as he grabbed the lamp from the nightstand and threw it against the TV. Both shattered on impact, the TV screen releasing smoke. He paced back and forth as veins bulged on his forehead and neck. His eyes travelled down at the ripped pillows, the shattered clock, the burnt nightstand and the cracked walls as anger swelled inside of him, making him tremble. His tail was as bristled as it would go and he once again looked over at the woman combing her hair.

"FUCK YOU!" he screamed as he ripped the phone from the wall, taking a bit of the wall with it, and throwing it against the other wall.

"NO! FUCK YOU!" She shot back as she turned her hair dryer off, unplugging it and capsulating it, and molded her blue hair around her face.

"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU, I SWEAR!" He said, digging his gloved fingers into his temples.

"I'm ready now! Calm down!" she answered, getting out of the bathroom.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the destroyed room. She put a hand on her forehead in frustration. They would either have to flee or pay for everything.

"Finally. Let's go."

"What – did you summon a hurricane in here or something?" she said, throwing her arms in the air.

Vegeta rolled his eyes and walked out the door. Bulma followed him, putting her backpack on her shoulder and closing the door behind her.

…

They walked out the building and Bulma looked around. It was 5:30 in the morning and the streets were mainly empty; only a few passerby's and cars racing through. She shivered in the cold weather.

"What about some breakfast?"

"No." he deadpanned.

"Come on. Aren't you hungry? I'm starving." She answered, walking down the street to find a restaurant that would open so early.

"We are disgustingly late."

"Late. You keep saying that word. Late for _what? _Do you have an appointment with the dragon balls or something? Cut me some slack, I'm doing all I can."

"Woman, we need to find those balls as soon as possible."

"Why? Look, I know you want me to repair your pod and all, but it won't take long. Just relax Vegeta." She answered.

Vegeta growled. He had almost forgotten about the pod, what with his plan of stealing the wish and all.

"I need to get off of this planet as soon as possible." He growled.

"Look. Let's eat, find the next one and then I'll check the pod out, okay?" she said, still a little perturbed when he mentioned outer space. She didn't even know if she wanted to believe it.

Vegeta sighed and his stomach growled. He figured one hour would make no difference and finally agreed.

Both teenagers entered a cozy little restaurant with a neon sign that read 'Breakfast'. It was a bit retro, with round, red tables and cushioned chairs and pictures of the 60's and 70's decorating the walls. She guided Vegeta to a small table in the corner and sat down. The prince sighed as he sat in front of her and looked out the big window. The sun was beginning to cast a light on the buildings and the streets filled up slowly.

"Can I get you anything?" the waitress asked. She quirked an eyebrow at the strange boy but decided to ignore him. She had seen weirder things. Bulma smiled.

"Get us one of everything."

Her eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We're kinda hungry."

"Alright, then."

She turned around and went into the kitchen.

"So, tell me something about you. Up until now the only thing I know is your name."

"And that's the only thing that concerns you." He said.

"Why are you so rude?"

"The less you know the better." He said. "Trust me."

Bulma quirked an eyebrow and looked down at her hands.

"Are you like, a secret agent or something?"

Vegeta scoffed. "Far from it."

"Well, there must be something you can tell me!" she said. "Look, I'll tell you something and you'll tell me something in return, okay?" without giving him time to respond, she put a hand on her chest, "My name is Bulma, I'm sixteen-years-old, and I'm a technological genius."

Vegeta crossed his arms. Might as well get on with her ridiculous game.

"My name is Vegeta, I'm seventeen and I'm a p – I'm a soldier."

"For what government?" she asked, interested.

"It's hardly a government." He muttered. "More like a dictator."

"What's his name?" she answered, interested.

Vegeta crossed his arms and glared at her.

"I can't tell you and you probably wouldn't recognize his name anyway."

"I know a lot about politics." She answered, smiling proudly. "I bet I've at least heard of him or read his name somewhere."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "No, you haven't. For all you know, there's no life outside your planet."

Bulma swallowed as she spotted the waitress coming close to them. She was pushing a small trolley. She stopped next to their table and began to place all kinds of drinks between them: lemonade, orange juice, coke, milk, chocolate, milkshakes, strawberry juice, frappes, etc. Bulma grabbed a lemonade and drank a small sip, nervously waiting for the waitress to leave. When the woman pushed the trolley away and went inside the kitchen again, Bulma spoke up.

"So… you come from outer space." She said quietly.

"Technically." He answered.

"Where do you come from? And where were you going?"

"I can't tell you."

"So… you're not human."

"No." he scoffed. "I'm a Saiyan."

"What's a Saiyan?"

"One of the strongest races the Universe has known. We are a warrior race, born to fight." He said.

"Wow. Fight? Do you like to fight? As in, martial arts or something?"

"Yes." He answered. "It's what Saiyans do."

"You should teach me sometime." She said. "I've always wanted to fight, but my father got me into technology and stuff. Imagine if I had the three things: brain, brawn and looks! I'd be irresistible!"

"I can help with the brawn; I don't know where you plan to get the other two things, though." He joked.

Bulma glared at him.

"Is it a Saiyan thing to be so rude, or is it just you failing to learn some manners?"

"I guess it's just a human thing to be too weak hearted, and a Bulma thing to be such a sniveling baby." He answered, smirking.

"Jerk." She said, crossing her arms.

The waitress came in then, carrying another trolley and putting all sorts of food on the table. She had to ask for another waiter to join two more tables so that all the food would fit. Omelets, soups, sandwiches, waffles, pancakes, cereal, eggs, bacon, salad, rice, and all kinds of food stood on the tables. Bulma's eyes widened as she grabbed an omelet before Vegeta attacked. He began to shove everything into his mouth, swallowing hastily with all the drinks his hands could grab. His tail waved excitedly behind him as he stuffed his face with warm food that was better than he would ever admit. His tongue was on a vacation.

In all honesty, he hadn't eaten so well since he had been under Frieza. The food on the planet was delicious.

The waiters stood wide eyed as they stared at the young boy stuffing his face. They had never seen something like that.

When Vegeta wiped every single plate clean, and sat back. Good thing that the small restaurant's menu was a large one, because as soon as the waitress picked every single plate up, a new wave of all kinds of breakfast foods was brought to them.

When Vegeta was _finally _satisfied, he sat back and sighed.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." She said.

"Hn."

"So, uhm… why did you choose the soldier life?" she asked timidly.

Vegeta looked out the window for a second and his eyebrow furrowed slightly before his face turned completely stoic. He turned a blank eye at her.

"I did not choose to be a soldier." He said.

"Oh, so where you come from is it mandatory or something?" she asked.

Vegeta looked at her for a long minute before sighing slightly.

"You wouldn't understand if I tried to explain it to you." He answered.

"But then… you don't _like _fighting." She said. "You are just forced to do it."

"I like fighting. I _love_ fighting. I live to fight and will die doing so. Saiyans need fight as they need oxygen." He said. "I was forced to become a soldier, not a warrior."

"Wow." She said softly.

"Let's get going." He answered. "We've already wasted enough time."

* * *

There you go. A bit of bonding.

Please review!


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